Safaricom has partnered with Ria Money Transfer that will enable M-PESA customers to be able to receive money transfers from North America and Europe.

The new service will be available to 26 million M-PESA customers on the Safaricom network and it will enable them to receive international money transfers from over 20 countries in North America and Europe.

Customers sending money to M-PESA through Ria will be informed of the applicable exchange rate and transaction fee before sending money. Transfers sent through Ria will reflect immediately in a customer’s M-PESA balance.

“We are excited to partner with Ria Money Transfer to enable M-PESA customers to conveniently receive money transfers from even more locations around the world. This partnership will further increase the value we provide to our customers by offering them more choice and the power to receive transfers directly into their M-PESA accounts,” said Michael Joseph, CEO, Safaricom.

“We see a great partner in M-PESA, a company committed to our same goal: providing an efficient and customer-centric money transfer service to ensure funds make it into the hands of those who need it most. We are confident in the success of this partnership and the enormous benefits it will bring our customers,” said Juan Bianchi, CEO of Euronet’s Money Transfer Segment.

Ria Money Transfer is a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide Inc and is the second largest money transfer network in the world with 389,000 locations across 161 countries. Some of Ria’s top markets include the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, in addition to majority of European countries.

M-PESA has been growing as a preferred remittance channel especially by Kenyans in the diaspora looking to send money to their families back home. According to Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) statistics, more than 40 percent of international transfers are now received through the service.

This new service is under M-PESA Global, Safaricom’s International Money Transfer business, which covers both incoming and outgoing money transfers. Other Ria Money Transfer, other M-Pesa Global partners include Western Union, PayPal, World Remit, HomeSend among others.